


Cityscapes Turn to Dust

by TheFandomLesbian



Series: Angela's Raulson One-Shots [37]
Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Murder House
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Hotgomery - Freeform, No Smut, Romance, Short, raulson - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 17:18:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17585030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFandomLesbian/pseuds/TheFandomLesbian
Summary: Billie Dean fears a world in which the murder house collapses, leaving the fate of the ghosts inside uncertain. She seeks to prevent such a future from occurring.





	Cityscapes Turn to Dust

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lulutriplet1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lulutriplet1/gifts).



> Title from "Apocalypse" by Cigarettes After Sex  
> For a prompt requesting Hotgomery biggest fear.

In Billie Dean’s nightmares, the house collapsed. 

She watched it with wide eyes from the distance. It was the future, so many eons away that the forest had grown over the city and taken hold again. Surrounded by trees on either side, the dilapidated murder house stood, swaying in the wind and bent over, the paint long chipped to nothing and the beautiful blue glass fixtures shattered and buried in the dirt. It started with a creak and a crackle. But, like the sound of a tree falling in the forest, the popping grew into a dull roar as the wooden fixtures collapsed in on themselves, unable to support its own weight anymore.

The roof caved first, and when all of those pieces struck the floor, it, too, collapsed onto the ground floor, and then that bowed inward and tossed everything into the basement--the basement, where the spirits still lived, where no one had ever successfully freed them from their abode before the apocalypse had wiped out living mankind. “Nora!” she cried, but her voice made no sound, for she was merely an observer, a third person narrator. In this universe, she did not exist. In this universe, she, like everyone else Nora had ever known, abandoned her to death with no recompense. 

“Miss Howard.” The sound of the real estate agent tugged her out of her reverie, a raft dragging a drowning person back to the surface of the water. “This house has been condemned. I’m afraid you’ll put more money into restoring it than it’s worth.” She hardly looked at the man as she tilted her head back, appraising the house. She had been sneaking in after dark for months now, but the man was right--it was dangerous inside. Places were rotting. She feared she would fall through the floor. But she wouldn’t sacrifice Nora. “If you’re insistent on owning the property, I think it would be much more profitable to level the house and replace it with something--it’d be cheaper.”

Billie Dean flinched at the mere suggestion of destroying the house. “ _ No. _ ” He raised an eyebrow at the sharp tone to her voice. “I’m going to restore it. With the current foundation, and as much of the structure as can be salvaged. I want it to be as similar to the original construction as possible.” 

His incredulous look didn’t fade. “Miss Howard,” he said, “surely you know this house was constructed almost one hundred years ago? It’s out of the question to consider restoring everything back to its original form. It’d be outdated.”

_ That’s the point.  _ Nora wanted things the way they were when the house was built. Billie Dean wanted to give her what she wanted.  _ She deserves everything she wants.  _ “Not everything. But as much as possible. Do you have the original floor plans?” 

It took a few weeks. Billie Dean walked through regularly. Nora and the other ghosts remained invisible to the construction workers, but she could see them. She could see them clearly. She walked through the house holding Nora’s hand and squeezed it tight. “No, no, save those!” She stopped some workers from demolishing Nora’s crib for Thaddeus.  _ They’re going to find Thaddeus, eventually, if Nora doesn’t hide him. _ She didn’t know if Nora wanted to save her son or not. She couldn’t ask with the workers all around. “Ask me before destroying anything down here, please. Some of it is valuable.” 

She preserved everything Nora wanted and some things held dear by the other ghosts. She allowed the workers to destroy Charles’s materials and the things owned by the more malevolent spirits of the house. She hoped to cleanse the air through getting rid of their possessions. But the more innocuous spirits, the sad ones who had only their few things--she saved their belongings for them. 

Upon completion, Billie Dean sat at the top of the stairs and gazed up at the pretty blue chandelier she had picked out for its similarities to Nora’s eyes. “This is nice,” she said, leaning her head against Nora’s soft, cool body. “We’re finally alone again. And I don’t have to worry about falling through the floor.” She drummed her feet hard on the floor. It was solid. Something inside of her softened. The house wasn’t condemned anymore. She had saved it. She had no more fear--for right now.

“I would really like something to sit on,” Nora gumbled. Billie Dean chuckled. “It is nice,” she amended, putting a hand around her waist. “Thank you. I didn’t expect this of you.” 

Billie Dean kissed her cheek. “I couldn’t dream of leaving you to rot in some black mold infested hellhole. Besides, I want to stay with you sometimes. I can stay here during the day now and not get the police called on me.” She leaned back on the stairs with a soft sigh. “Things are going to get better now. The house is safe. We can do whatever we want.” 

Nora held her hand. “Yes.” The sadness in her eyes had shrunk. It still lingered, was still there, but it was fading.  _ It was worth every second and every penny.  _ Nora kissed the back of Billie Dean’s hand with her chilly, wet lips. “Whatever we want.” 


End file.
